After over a year sidelined by Covid-19, the Guppy Project is back in action and seeking interns to participate in our long-term research in Trinidad, W.I. Please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.
Research Internships – Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Research interns are needed to assist in a multi-disciplinary, multi-investigator, experimental study of the evolution of species interactions in Trinidad, West Indies. The research is led by Professors David Reznick (University of California, Riverside), Joseph Travis (Florida State University), Tim Coulson (University of Oxford), and Ron Bassar (Williams College). We seek to integrate multiple biological fields for the study of these interactions in experimental populations of guppies and killifish in Trinidad. Duties include assisting in monthly censuses of guppy populations in montane streams. The monthly censuses include long hours in the field and laboratory. There will also be 12 days off between each census when interns can pursue an independent project.
Interns will be required to spend a minimum of 3-months in Trinidad, with possibility of extension. There are potential start dates in September 2021 and every month thereafter until September 2024. We will cover all travel and living expenses and provide housing.
Qualifications: We seek interns who are entertaining the possibility of pursuing graduate studies in some area of ecology and evolution and who wish to gain some additional field research experience before doing so. Research will take place in semi-remote areas of Trinidad sometimes under bad weather conditions. Applicants must be able to live and work well with others. Research will involve carrying heavy packs over slippery and steep terrain. Applicants must be in good physical condition and be able to meet the demands of field research under these conditions. Ability to drive a standard transmission vehicle is desirable but not required. Applicants with first-aid/first responder training, skills in automobile maintenance, and construction skills are highly desirable. Please address these skills when applying.
Please see our website <www.theguppyproject.weebly.com> for more information on the project and access to reprints. Be sure to check out our video menu, which includes a “guppy censuses” as submenu VII. It details the main tasks associated with the internship.
Applicants should send cover letter, CV and the names and e-mail addresses of three or more professional references to David Reznick (gupy@ucr.edu). At least two of the references should be academics.